News

European migrant deals ‘could put victims of religious persecution at risk’

  June 17, 2017 Afghanistan, Converts, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Europe, Migrants, Pakistan, Refugees, Somalia, Sudan

New deals aimed at reducing the number of migrants reaching Europe’s shores could endanger the lives of people fleeing religious persecution, the European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) has warned. The Partnership Framework on Migration was launched last year as the European Commission’s response to member states’ requests for a strategic approach . . . Read More

Eritrea arrests another 22 Christians

  June 16, 2017 Eritrea Abune Antonios, Adi Quala, Asmara, Pentecostals

The number of Eritrean Christians arrested since the beginning of May has risen to more than 120, according to charities Open Doors and Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). World Watch Monitor first reported on the fresh wave of arrests on 26 May, at which stage over 90 people had been arrested. . . . Read More

Aged four and scarred for life: the children who survived Indonesian church attack

  June 16, 2017 Indonesia Borneo, Samarinda, Sumatra, Trauma

*Warning: Readers may find images upsetting. Two-year-old Anita Sihotang cannot bear the sound of her father’s motorbike because it reminds her of the noise of the explosion last November, when a petrol bomb was thrown into a church park where children were playing, killing one child and seriously injuring Anita . . . Read More

Vietnamese pastor punished for ‘reports’ to US diplomats; Catholic blogger to be expelled to France

  June 15, 2017 Vietnam Cambodia, Central Highlands, Communism, Ho Chi Minh City, Montagnards, Nguyen Cong Chinh, Thailand, USA

A pastor imprisoned in south-east Vietnam is being further punished for telling a visiting U.S. diplomatic delegation about abuses he has suffered. Nguyen Cong Chinh, serving an 11-year sentence for “undermining national solidarity” by religious activities with ethnic groups in the Central Highlands, met US consular officials in Ho Chi . . . Read More

Why the Uyghurs are under pressure in Xinjiang

  June 15, 2017 China Communism, Syria, Terrorism, Turkey, Uyghurs, Xinjiang

Both Muslims and Christians in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in north-west China find themselves under increased pressure from the Chinese authorities. An anti-terror mass rally in the southern city of Hotan in February, an increase in surveillance measures in public places, and the introduction of new anti-terror policies, are all . . . Read More

Iraqi senior cleric shown calling for Christians to ‘convert, pay tax or be killed’

  June 14, 2017 Iraq Baghdad, Converts, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Jizya

A video showing a call for jihad from a senior Iraqi Shi’ite cleric has caused anger among Iraqi Christians. The undated footage shows Sheikh Alaa Al-Mousawi, head of the Shia Endowment, a government body that looks after Iraq’s Shia holy sites, describing Christians as “infidels”, saying “either they should convert . . . Read More

Iraq Christians returning home face many hurdles

  June 14, 2017 Iraq Bashar Warda, Islamic State, Middle East, Mosul, Nineveh Plains

Three years since the northern Iraqi city of Mosul was taken by Islamic State militants, Iraqi government forces have been able to reclaim a large part of the city, allowing Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Baghdad Louis Raphael Sako to visit several churches and monasteries. While there is still fierce fighting . . . Read More

Building resistance to Mexico’s culture of corruption

  June 14, 2017 Mexico Corruption, Juarez, Latin America, Organised crime, Tijuana

While most people think of Syria or Iraq as the deadliest places on the planet, Latin America has recently fought its way into the conversation as the global epicentre of deadly crimes committed outside war zones. In 2015, 43 of the world’s 50 most dangerous cities were located in Latin . . . Read More

Sri Lanka: over 20 attacks on Christians this year

  June 13, 2017 Sri Lanka Bodu Bala Sena, Buddhist nationalism, Maithripala Sirisena

There have been over 20 violent incidents against Christians so far this year, according to the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka. Following a parallel surge in violent attacks on Muslims in the country, the alliance calls on the government to ensure the protection of minorities and their places of worship. . . . Read More

UNHCR accused of ‘negligence’ after Pakistani Christian dies in Thai detention centre

  June 9, 2017 Asylum seekers, Bangkok, Blasphemy, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Malaysia, Migrants, Pakistan, Prophet Muhammad, Quran, Refugees, Sri Lanka, Thailand, UK, UN

Thailand’s government and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Bangkok have been accused of “negligence” after a Pakistani Christian asylum seeker died in a detention centre last month. Ijaz Masih, 35, was reportedly refused medical treatment on 26 May, after complaining of chest pains, and died of a heart attack . . . Read More